The latest from Craig Gillespie (Mr. Woodcock) finds a withdrawn guy seeks love from a lifelike sex doll ordered over the Internet. Bryan Gosling continues his slide down from The Believer (2001) as the title misfit, who’s first seen clutching the baby blanket knit for him by his mother, who died giving birth to him. So much for motivation. Despite the concern of his sister-in-law (Emily Mortimer) and the come-ons of a cutie at work, Lars remains resolutely weird and introverted. Until, that is, “Bianca” arrives in the mail and becomes his platonic dream girl. Fortunately, Lars lives in a small town that even Frank Capra would find over-altruistic. Everyone indulges Lars’s delusion, setting up increasingly strained comic situations, and everyone becomes a better person. To see how a similar premise can actually touch the heart, check out Peter Cattaneo’s lovely, neglected 2005 film Opal Dream.

23 skidoo? As of press time, the 23rd Boston Film Festival was still shaping up.

Spring brakes Funny how spring movies can mirror the options of spring break.

The plot thickens This article originally appeared in the December 20, 1991 issue of the Boston Phoenix .

Reversal of fortune Have you ever reacted aggressively against some lifestyle choice of your forebears?

Wrong on Wright? I’m so sick of people in general, and reporters in particular, who make assumptions about something based on hearsay.

Power Point A move to London has yielded the director's most bracing, sure-handed, satisfying film in a decade.

Loud and clear Things certainly changed dramatically at the Courthouse Center for the Arts in West Kingston when Russ Maitland signed on last December as executive director.

Can Mr. Smith Get to Washington Anymore? Even his mom thinks it’s a goofy idea, but 29-year-old Jeff Smith, a novice politician bursting with liberal idealism, decides to seek a congressional seat in inner St. Louis previously held by Dick Gephardt. Watch the trailer for Can Mr. Smith Get to Washington Anymore?